Kompost Kids Inc.https://kompostkids.org
Transforming Soil. Transforming Lives. Transforming our Communities.Tue, 24 Mar 2020 02:48:55 +0000en-US
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1 https://kompostkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/icon-50x50.pngKompost Kids Inc.https://kompostkids.org
3232Bay View Kompost Site Help!https://kompostkids.org/2020/03/bay-view-location-closing-march-15th-2020/
https://kompostkids.org/2020/03/bay-view-location-closing-march-15th-2020/#respondMon, 23 Mar 2020 01:54:30 +0000https://kompostkids.org/?p=15114 As of March 15th, 2020, the Bay View Kompost site is closed and we cannot accept any of your food scraps (or anything else) until we find a new home. We hope our community is staying well and finding some outdoor earth-loving time in this uncertainty. We are also craving some normalcy for when we can emerge together — so acknowledge how strange

As of March 15th, 2020, the Bay View Kompost site is closed and we cannot accept any of your food scraps (or anything else) until we find a new home.

We hope our community is staying well and finding some outdoor earth-loving time in this uncertainty. We are also craving some normalcy for when we can emerge together — so acknowledge how strange this timing is, but we have a request for you. We’re still urgently looking for a new home, and we’ll also need help with the move once #SaferAtHome restrictions are lifted and we can gather healthfully.

Please fill out this survey to help to find a new location, move from the old one, and take home the compost we made together!

EDIT/NOTE: Given COVID-19 and #SaferAtHome restrictions, ALL IN-PERSON volunteer activities are suspended until further notice. Follow our updates here on the website, on Facebook,and Instagram to stay in touch.

Kompost Kids prides ourselves on loving unlovable spaces, and building community out of soil, worms, and people. These locations can either be a garden based community site or larger demonstration site.

Kompost Kids needs a few dedicated Trash Heroes to help shape our sustainability team for the 2020 Bay View Bash. Want to learn more? Come meet Green Team Co-Lead, Renee, before the full Bash planning meeting later that night. *1st beer on her :)*

MORE INFO:
–Check out www.kompostkids.org/bvb for how the all-volunteer Green Team has shifted over the 10 YEARS (!!) we’ve been composting the Bash.
–Plenty of short-term volunteer opportunities available closer to the Bash … but these Komposters will take a more active role in bringing the Near Zero-Waste plan to fruition.

Milwaukee, WI – Those dumpster divers are at it again! Kompost Kids trash heroes and waste audit return to the Bay View Bash (Saturday, September 21, 2019; 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM on Kinnickinnic Ave. between Potter and Clement). In 2018, over 100 volunteers racked up 250 hours to hand-sort 100% of all trash discarded by 35,000 attendees, approximately 4000 pounds. Why? To recover the maximum compostable or recyclable material from the landfill.

Sorting 100% of all trash at the Bash resulted in a fewer landfill dumpsters filled, down from five in 2017, to just over 1 dumpster in 2018. The 2018 waste audit showed approximately 75% of items tossed into landfill bags (e.g. corn husks, napkins, beer cups) were compostable; sorting by volunteers reclaimed those materials to become soil. Based on the total Bash trash weight (~4000lbs), the waste audit also established that 51% of trash was composted, 21% was recycled, and 28% went to the landfill. The EPA estimates the US produces 250 Million Tons of trash per year, and on average 50% is landfilled. While many events strive for zero-waste, there is limited publicly available data on where all the trash ends up.

Kompost Kids believes in Trash Transparency. We will improve on and report the results of the live waste audit at the Bay View Bash in 2019. Since 2010, Kompost Kids and the Bay View Bash have innovated to reduce landfilled trash and improve our ecological footprint. In 2019, Kompost Kids is hosting a social media contest pushing attendees to bring their own reusable cups, straws, or utensils. To enter the contest, attendees post a picture of their reusable gear with the hashtag #MKENoWaste and tag Kompost Kids for a chance to win. Some other sustainable highlights that continue in 2019 include: partnering with local school Green Teams to hand-sort all trash during and after the Bash, requiring vendors to use compostable food service items, incentivizing “Green Star Vendors” who use only compostable materials, selling beer and wine in compostable cups, and prohibiting plastic water bottle sales (canned water is ok).

Kompost Kids and the Bay View Bash are both volunteer-run non-profit organizations. Kompost Kids mission is to educate the public, individuals, businesses, and institutions about the benefits of compost and to reclaim organic materials from landfills to create soil for community-based agriculture projects. The Bay View Bash festival raises funds that are directly invested back into the city’s neighborhoods through grants. Together we have shown that we can perfect a model of volunteer power and zero-waste practices that any event (from street festival, block party, concert, to conference) could replicate.

Volunteers of the Bay View Bash know that “It’s only waste if it’s wasted,” and food scraps and recyclables are an important part of our sustainable future. Unphased by the prospect of dealing with the food and drink discards of 30,000 to 40,000 of our closest neighbors, we roll up our sleeves and get dirty. In 2017, we reclaimed about one ton of waste headed to the landfill through hand-sorting all materials thrown into garbage bins. In 2018 we sorted 100% of all trash material and reduced landfill volume from 5 dumpsters to just over 1. It cannot be overstated how vital volunteers are to this effort. You can help too!

]]>https://kompostkids.org/2019/09/bvbquickinfo/feed/1New Page! #MKENoWastehttps://kompostkids.org/2019/09/new-page-mkenowaste/
https://kompostkids.org/2019/09/new-page-mkenowaste/#respondFri, 06 Sep 2019 16:18:17 +0000https://kompostkids.org/?p=15068Think about your trash To go through the “WHY” behind taking steps toward zero-waste, which is built into Kompost Kids and The Bay View Bash missions, we made a whole page for it! Check out the stats and infographics here. To get you pumped, here are a couple of stats.

]]>https://kompostkids.org/2019/09/new-page-mkenowaste/feed/0Volunteer Composting — A TON of Funhttps://kompostkids.org/2019/09/volunteer-composting-ton-fun/
https://kompostkids.org/2019/09/volunteer-composting-ton-fun/#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2019 22:31:04 +0000https://kompostkids.org/?p=14748As Milwaukeeans, we love our street fests. As compost and sustainability experts, it’s a little tough to see all those corncobs and plastic beer cups in a garbage can headed to a landfill. On September 21, 2019, we’re partnering with the amazing Bay View Bash team and Blue Ribbon Organics to change the way neighborhood festivals can think through their “waste” stream. After all,

]]>As Milwaukeeans, we love our street fests. As compost and sustainability experts, it’s a little tough to see all those corncobs and plastic beer cups in a garbage can headed to a landfill.

On September 21, 2019, we’re partnering with the amazing Bay View Bash team and Blue Ribbon Organics to change the way neighborhood festivals can think through their “waste” stream. After all, “it’s only waste if it’s wasted.” Food scraps and recyclables are an important part of our sustainable future, and we reclaimed one metric ton each year since 2015. We do this through hand-sorting all materials that make their way into a receptacle at the Bash.

As a near-zero waste event (and 100% volunteer-run one at that), we need your help! If you’ve ever wondered what it might take to compost your own backyard BBQ, block party, or street fest –sign up for this volunteer event now.

Participants walk away (albeit a little dirty) with a new respect keeping items out of our swelling landfills. We hear things like “I’ll never look at another plastic water bottle the same way again.” This is a great opportunity for service learning hours and stepping up your sustainability credibility. Lost more info found here.

Want to delve a little deeper into event composting? Want to learn how to do a waste audit? We’re offering personalized service-learning volunteer and educational opportunities — coordinate timing and planning by contacting us here: compost_at_kompostkids.com.

]]>https://kompostkids.org/2019/09/volunteer-composting-ton-fun/feed/4KOMPOSTER Sponsors, Support a Trash Hero Todayhttps://kompostkids.org/2019/08/bvbsponsors/
https://kompostkids.org/2019/08/bvbsponsors/#respondMon, 12 Aug 2019 18:40:11 +0000https://kompostkids.org/?p=15009Are you looking for a unique sponsorship opportunity with home-grown Milwaukee non-profit organizations? Do you think about building a sustainable future by re-thinking our “waste” and “resource” streams? Since 2010, Kompost Kids has innovated street festival composting and sustainable waste management at the Bay View Bash. We’ve gone from answering questions like “what is composting?” (in 2010) to rescuing approximately one ton (~2000 pounds) of

]]>Are you looking for a unique sponsorship opportunity with home-grown Milwaukee non-profit organizations? Do you think about building a sustainable future by re-thinking our “waste” and “resource” streams? Since 2010, Kompost Kids has innovated street festival composting and sustainable waste management at the Bay View Bash. We’ve gone from answering questions like “what is composting?” (in 2010) to rescuing approximately one ton (~2000 pounds) of organics from the Bash yearly (since 2015). We’re looking for sponsors to support this work. Sponsorship affords innovation in sustainable waste management and supports Green Team funding.

Graphic by former Kompost Kids Board Member, Julie Pahnke.

“It’s only waste if it’s wasted” and rather than filing a landfill, KOMPOSTERS hand-sort everything thrown away (garbage, recyclables, and compostable materials) to reclaim items that don’t belong in a landfill. In 2018, >100 KOMPOSTER volunteers hand-sorted all trash (4000 lbs) collected in the one-day festival from 35,000 Bash attendees. 2000 lbs were compostables, and almost 1000 lbs were recyclables, meaning only 28% went to the landfill. Before KOMPOSTERS sorted and reclaimed material, a waste audit showed that ~75% of everything in landfill receptacles was compostable. We also reduced landfill volume from 5 dumpsters down to just over 1 dumpster.

Our biggest bottlenecks are the amount of volunteer power required to hand-sort all materials, plus the late evening hours of the Bash. Eventually we have to stop sorting materials and leave for the night, potentially leaving some of the recyclables and organics in landfill dumpsters. Because of 2018 support funding, we were able to provide stipends to 6 KOMPOSTER Green Teams from schools and sustainability organizations. Green Teams earn funds based on pounds of organics diverted from the landfill, plus a bonus if we sort through 100% of all trash from the day. The only reason we were able to sort 100% of trash (4000 lbs) is because of providing stipends to Green Teams.

The Green Sponsorship levels range from $100 for a social media shout out, to $500 for KOMPOSTER T-shirt, to $1000 for both KOMPOSTER and BASH T-shirts, to $3500 for a title sponsor. All sponsorship over $550 is wrapped into Bay View Bash Sponsorship levels. For example, a $1000 sponsorship would include your logo on the 100 KOMPOSTER Volunteers working on sustainable waste management, PLUS the T-shirts of the additional 100 Volunteers it takes to run all other aspects of the Bay View Bash. See flyer for all sponsorship information.

$100 – Social Media Shout Out

$250 – Sustainability Signage

$500 – Komposter T-Shirt

$550 ++ – Benefits include typical Bay View Bash sponsorship package

$1000 – BOTH Komposter and Bash Volunteer T-shirts

$1500 – Children’s Area Sponsor

$2500 – H2O Sponsor

$3500 – Exclusive Title Sponsor

Kompost Kids is kicking in our own money to support KOMPOSTER Green Team funding, and your support will help us get even farther. We believe we can perfect this model of volunteer power and sponsorship that any street festival could replicate, and we are thankful to our partners in sustainable innovations. Come join us.

Sponsorship still available, due Sunday, September 1. For More Information Contact Marion: marion.e_at_kompostkids.com

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#MakeDirtNotTrash

The Bay View Bash festival raises funds that are directly invested back into the city’s neighborhoods through grants. Kompost Kids Inc. makes compost for the community and educates the public about the benefits of composting. Both are all-volunteer non-profit organizations.

Back by popular demand, we’re recruiting KOMPOSTER Teams to earn funds for hand-sorting Bay View Bash food and drink items from festival receptacles (garbage, recyclable, and compostable bins) to reclaim what should not go to a landfill. The 2019 Bay View Bash is on Saturday, September 21st & additional teams are needed on Sunday, September 22nd.

Earn funds for your green project, sustainability team, or community group! Minimum requirement: 10 people, 2-hour commitment. Support funding will go to organizations, not individuals. This is based on the number people in your team, the hours they volunteer, and total amount organics diverted from the landfill. Click here for the KOMPOSTER Fundraiser Flyer!

If we have a waitlist, Team leaders already assigned a shift will provide team roster draft sooner than Aug 26th spots can open.

You’ll receive a confirmation email with your team date/time.

To guarantee T-shirts – sign up by Thursday, August 29.

Teams must sign up and have their team roster by Wednesday, September 18.

Teams are trained, and we will have this sorting info banner up in the sorting station. Thanks to former board member, Julie Pahnke, for putting together the banner!

Educational or project-based learning opportunity possible. Email any questions to Renee at compost_at_kompostkids.com. Go to www.kompostkids.org/BVB for WAAAY more information. Become a KOMPOSTER Team Leader today!

]]>https://kompostkids.org/2019/08/bvbteams/feed/0Meet Our New Intern!https://kompostkids.org/2019/08/meet-our-new-intern/
https://kompostkids.org/2019/08/meet-our-new-intern/#commentsFri, 09 Aug 2019 12:42:14 +0000https://kompostkids.org/?p=14968Hello! My name is Beca McCarthy and I am very excited to be Kompost Kid’s 2019 Sustainability Media Intern! I am a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pursuing my bachelor’s degree in global studies, with a focus in environmental security. I plan to continue my studies toward a master’s degree in natural resource management next year. My favorite things are kayaking, wildlife, and

Hello! My name is Beca McCarthy and I am very excited to be Kompost Kid’s 2019 Sustainability Media Intern! I am a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pursuing my bachelor’s degree in global studies, with a focus in environmental security. I plan to continue my studies toward a master’s degree in natural resource management next year.

My favorite things are kayaking, wildlife, and Wisconsin Summers. Someday I hope to work for the National Parks to protect our nation’s purest intrinsic resources. I am very eager to work on large-scale waste reduction and community education through this internship. The mission to create a zero-waste street festival is ambitious and exciting!

Even with The Bash requiring vendors to use compostable food and drink items, and Kompost Kids reclaiming 100% of compostable and recyclable Bash items from the landfill in 2018, refusing what will be single-use trash is always top priority. To continue to reduce our festival waste footprint, Kompost Kids and The Bash are encouraging your reusable utensils and cups this year, and you can start practicing now!

Long time Milwaukee conservationist and Kompost Kid friend, Barbara Richards, shows off how to REFUSE items at a self-serve event.

#MKENoWaste Campaign Contest Guidelines:

Take a picture of how you avoided single use items and share on social media

BYO portable tableware to your potluck, block party, or picnic, and invite all your friends to do the same

Avoid single-use food/drink plastic all around town

Got scraps of fabric and some sewing skills? Make your own travel case. And then show it off!

Get creative! Skip the restaurant plastic kid’s cup by bringing a sippy cup from home. Ask friends to BYO tableware to your backyard BBQ. Think pack in, pack out camping rules whenever you dine al fresco. Leave it cleaner than you found it. Show us your mug, and #MKENoWaste.

How to win: All pictures following guidelines above posted by Sunday, September 22 are eligible to win. During the week of Oct 1 – Oct 8, Kompost Kids will post 10 #MKENoWaste favorites, and crowdsource the vote. The winner will be announced and invited to collect their sustainability prize at our volunteer thank you party on Saturday, October 26th.

IMPORTANT NOTE! See here for the full State of WI Food Code. Most food vendors are small business owners. Please DO NOT ask them to use your own single service item (like a personal plate or a plastic container) to SERVE you food.The Health Department takes food safety very seriously – the section of code as pertains is below:

“Section 3-304.16 Using Clean Tableware for Second Portions and Refills. (A) Except for refilling a CONSUMER’s drinking cup or container without contact between the pouring utensil and the lip–contact area of the drinking cup or container, FOOD EMPLOYEES may not use TABLEWARE, including SINGLE-SERVICE ARTICLES, soiled by the consumer, to provide second portions or refills.”

Even if you know it’s clean (not soiled) the Food Employee and the Health Department have no way to verify that you washed, rinsed, and sanitized the item. Kompost Kids would love to open a discussion about alternative food-safe practice solutions and/or addendums at the policy level, but we WILL NOT RISK the livelihoods of our small business owners. We ask that you do the same.

We love our puns and dad jokes. Got a good, clean pun about refusing single use plastic? Send it along and we’ll make a graphic about it!